The guest book
by laicka
Summary: He had been the spymaster, yet he was still missing to see something that would connect all the past events, but then he saw a small mistake that this assassin made, or it wasn't a mistake after all?


**A/N: this idea had been in my head for some time now, I wonder if Burrow didn't see the conection betwen what happen to his allies and the escape of Corvo, and taking in count that I did signed the guest book in the party of lady Boyle, this came out, hope you enjoy! **

**just to clarify something the story would be takin place the same day that Corvo goes to take care of Hiram Burrows.**

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The life of Hiram Burrows had change radically in the last six months, he have to accept that he didn't thought that the coup d'état would turn out so good, he had been ruling the empire as it please him. Yet in the past week and half his life was going through other set of changes that he didn't like at all. It all had begun with the escape of the former Royal Protector, Lord Corvo Attano, and now it took an even bitter twist, his beloved Lady Boyle was nowhere to be find, and that wasn't pleasing at all.

As the carriage made its way toward the Boyle state, he began to think if all that had been happening had something that connect them, and if so, what was it? He was sure if he looked carefully at all the facts he would be able to see the connection, after all he had been the Spymaster, making him one of the most brilliants minds in all Dunwall, or even the empire itself. But his thoughts were interrupted when a guard of the city watch open the door of the carriage and told him that they had arrived. So now he most focus at the task in hand, that was learning all he could of the disappearance of his beloved Lady. He hoped to find something that his spies had missed when making the report. As he believed it had been ridiculous how they said she had simply disappeared. No one simply disappear, she had to be somewhere.

He made his way toward the entrance of the main building, where another guard of the city watch opened the door and greeted him and let him pass to the estate. He quickly walked to the main entrance of the building and was received by maid.

"My ladies Boyle are waiting for you, Lord Regent," she said as she vow to the man. "If you would be so kind to follow me to the living room?"

Burrows simply nodded and followed the woman to the living room, were the two remaining Boyle women where. He looked at them, one of them was peeking through the window, she was wearing a simple pant suit of a light gray color, and had her hair tied up in a baby grand that hold itself with a brooch that was made of silver. She had a light brown hair of color. The other Boyle woman was wearing something completely different than her sister she was wearing a tight dark green jacket, and a white skirt that had a slit that show most part of her legs; her hair was tied up in a bun.

"Lord Regent have arrived my ladies," said the maid, made a vow and leave the room.

The two women turned and stared at the man that was standing in the room, he had already started to walk toward them. "Greeting my ladies," he said and stood behind one of the chairs that were in the room.

"To what do we own the pleasure, lord Regent?," said the woman that was sit on the couch, already with a glass of wine in one hand.

"I'm sure you know why I had come here, ladies," he said in a cold tone of voice. "To know what you know of the disappearance of your beloved sister."

"We already told everything we knew to your people Lord Regent," said the woman that was by the window.

"I know… but there must be something that my men overlook regarding your sister disappearance that I would be able to see."

"As it please you, my lord," said the woman that was by the window and went to sit next to her sister, the man took the chair that he had been holding and stared at the two women waiting for them to begin.

"Well, there wasn't anything that was out of the normal regarding the party," said the woman that had just sit, "it was normal, I guess. Do you remember anything outstanding Esma?"

"Anything outstanding…" said Esma as she touched her lips with one of her fingers. The man stared at her for what it seem an eternity wanting to tear down the information of her as if she was one of his prisoners, but he couldn't, he have to wait, until the woman added. "Oh, yeah, I remembered something," she said looking at her sister.

"What was it?!" asked eagerly Burrows, Esma eyed him and then looked at her sister.

"Actually is really funny, did you knew that Lord Shaw duel someone? I mean, he made a total fool of himself, it seem this man actually set him to sleep, somehow, the guards left him in the yard…" she said and drank heavily from her glass and then pour more wine in it.

"No, I didn't hear of it! Why didn't you tell me before Esma?"

"Oh, well Waverly, I thought that you would get all freak out if you heard one of our guest was sleeping in the yard."

"I guess you were right… But now thinking about it, I did felt that there was someone in the party that was hunting us down," said Waverly with a concerned looked.

Esma rolled her eyes, "You always think there is someone behind our back with a knife…"

"So, there wasn't anything outstanding in the party, whatsoever," said Burrows.

"We told you there wasn't," said Esma with a dark looked upon her face.

"If that will be all, I guess I will be going."

"No, wait, there was someone in the party that was different from the rest, now that I think about it…" said Waverly. Esma simply rolled her eyes again, but the Lord Regent seemed interesting in what the younger Boyle sister had to say.

"Who was it? Lady Waverly."

"It was this man, the one with the creepy mask, the one that looked like a skull, don't you remember him Esma?"

"Oh, yeah, the tall, handsome, silent man," she said with a lustful look on her eyes, "I do remembered him, he was kind of mysterious, though he spend quite a lot of time with Mrs. White, that wrench, why did we invited her?"

"What about the man, lady Esma? Did you saw his face?" asked Burrows eagerly.

"Oh, of course not, it was a mask party after all but I guess he was handsome, surely wearing that horrible mask was because he wanted to hide his beautiful face."

The Lord Regent was starting to get pretty annoyed by both sisters, why couldn't they just told him all the facts and be done with it, instead of going with the ups and downs of a party that he didn't care less.

"Though he was wearing a sort of military robes," said Waverly whom seem deep in thought. "You know, high ranked military, I think it was only blues ones…"

"I wonder, if he would have like them to be taken off by the teeth one by one…" said Esma, whom seem now to be in a sexual fantasy with that man. "I bet he did."

"What else could you tell me about him?" asked Burrows angrily.

"Not much I barely saw him, I didn't talk to him…" said Waverly.

"I did talk to him…" said Esma going out of her fantasy. "He was really polite, yet a bit distant," she gave a sighed. "He didn't want to give me his name, thought I'm pretty sure that I would had been able to make him say my name in more ways than any other women…" she added with a smirk and a lustful looked.

"Esma!"

"What?" she said and drank the remaining wine of the glass.

"I think he left after midnight, but so did Lord Brisby, so I don't know if there is a direct relationship of my sister disappearance and him, since no one knew Lydia had disappear after what seem to be two in the morning. And I would bet that Lord Brisby had more reasons to take my sister than this man," said Waverly.

"I see, I would like to thank you both, ladies," said Burrows.

"Oh, Lord Regent," said Esma as the man had rose from his sit. "The invitations and the guest book are in the lobby of the house, if you still wish to take them."

"I will, and thank you ladies, for your time," he said in a polite way.

He made his way to the entrance of the house took the invitations and the guest book and proceeded to leave the state. Once the man was gone and not being able to hear what the sisters would said to one another Esma broke the silence.

"Did you send the note?" she asked in a serious tone.

"Yes I did,"

"Do you think he have got it by now?"

"I only hope so…"

"Do you think that Lord Hiram would be able to see who did this?"

"I don't know, thought he is supposedly an intelligent man, if not Lydia would had never been with him… and yet if we were able, why wouldn't he?" said Waverly as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"Yes, but we are Boyle women, we most see through all this to still be able to live on, and with all that is happening, I can't really see him doing his work as he did before."

When Burrows had finally arrived again to Dunwall tower it had been almost dusk, he had spend a lot of time with the Boyle women, not to mention that he had then gone to see Lady White, who turned to be an even less resourceful source than the sisters. So when he had finally got to the tower he had headed directly to his study. He had read the reports of his spies and the declarations of the staff that was in duty that night, not to mention that he had been recalling all that the Boyle sisters had said. He still thought that he was missing something. Yet he didn't want to force himself too much since migraines would strike. He gave a sighed and lean against his chair, what was the thing that he was missing regarding the disappearance of his beloved Lydia Boyle?

He was finally going to give up for the night and go to rest or to his panic room as some guard had suggest when he remembered something that make him look at the invitations and the guest book. That guard at the entrance had told him that one man had tried to enter the party without invitation, a man that was passing as Bunting, the art dealer, after he had been stopped and thrown to the street the real Bunting had arrived with his invitation. Burrows spread the invitations over his desk and then took the guest book, he took the first invitation, it was Miss White, whom he easily found in the guest book, he marked the name knowing that the woman had been there and he no longer need the invitation, the next one was of Lord Brisby, whom he also found in the book, the third one of Lord Shaw whose name was the first one in the guest book. He continued to identify each of the invitations alongside their names in the guest book. It was just till Mr. Bunting invitation was left that he started looking for his name in the guest book. But instead of Buntings name in the guest book he found another name, one that couldn't or shouldn't be there.

He thought that his eyes most be deceiving him, how could that name be there, he felt his heart beat increase and even how panic started building up. Corvo Attano, he read it more than one time. How could Corvo's name be on the list, he thought that maybe it was a sort of twisted joke of one of the guests, but the handwriting was different form all the others. He couldn't think correctly so he did the only logical thing that he could thought of. He called a guard.

"Yes, Lord Regent?"

"I need you to bring me immediately one of the documents that the former Royal Protector signed and I needed it now!"

The guard ran out of the room and in less than five minutes returned with what had been asked him, he handed the paper and left the study. Hiram Burrows looked at the sign at the bottom, there was his, the one of the late Empress and Corvo's. There was no doubt, it was his handwriting. He started feeling panic and how the room started closing in, but knowing that Corvo had been in the party it only meant one thing. That he should have been behind all that had happen in the last days. It all make sense now, Corvo had escaped almost two weeks ago, one day before his execution, no doubt with some help. After his escape it had been three days before Campbell had come to see him bearing the heretic mark. Campbell had begged for Burrows help. But Hiram had told him he couldn't help him, that an overseer with that mark was an exile and had thrown away the man. Then three days later the Pendleton twins had banish form the earth, not to mention that Lady Emily as well, probably Corvo had found Campbell's black book and cipher it and learn of Emily's location and had take her with him. After that, two days later Sokolov had disappear from his quarters, just banish, which mean that it had to be Corvo. And after three days it had been his beloved Lydia. As he thought of what Corvo had done he realized that the way in which Corvo was taking them down wasn't just a murderous and rampage way but he was stripping each of his allies of their honor as he and Campbell had dishonored him. Though he had to admit neither Campbell nor the Pendleton were the most honorable persons in the Empire, but Lydia, he hoped that she was alive. He simply got up from the desk tear down the page with the names and throw it into the fireplace and saw it consume to ashes. He make a quick calculation and guess that Corvo would be coming for him probably that night or the next one so he decided that at least he would sleep one more time in the Emperor's chambers, his chambers. As he made his way toward the room a guard suggested that he should retreat to his panic room but he decided to ignored the guard and go to his room at least he could died there, to spite Corvo as he had spite him going to his mistress party. He will cover the room in blood and the bed that he was sure Corvo and Jessamine share more than once; since he had decided he wouldn't go down without a fight. He would show Corvo that he wasn't the only one that knew how to use a sword. At least he could do that, but he have to admit the uncertainty of not knowing when Corvo would come and get him was making him die a bit inside.


End file.
